After losing their 3 best players to rival teams, the Oakland Athletics season is looking bleak. General Manager Billy Beane (Pitt) tries to make the best of the situation, but is limited by the teams resources. The team cannot afford good players.
At a meeting with the Cleveland Indians, he meets analyst Peter Brand (Hill). Brand has a radical new way of looking at players: by economics. Beane is intrigued and hires Brand. They create a new way of ranking players based on their "on base percentage" and nothing else. Everyone else mocks their techniques, especially when they draft an injured catcher (Chris Pratt) to play first and an orthodox pitcher (Casey Bond). With the manager Art Howe (Hoffman) undermining their choices, the players fighting, and an unimpressed owner, can their new strategy work?
I"m not a baseball fan... Yes, I watch MLB (because I live with a big baseball fan) and watch my friends play (because it's more interesting in person). Despite that, I enjoyed this movie, but I think that has more to do with Aaron Sorkin's writing. Sorkin continues to impress... I mean, seriously, the man is an awesome writer (The West Wing, Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and The Social Network). Based on the book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game," about Billy Beane's strategy.
The performances are better than expected. Brad Pitt proves he is more than just a pretty face that got lucky. It is refreshing to see Jonah Hill is a serious movie. He can do comedy, and now proves that he can do drama as well. I don't think it was the greatest movie ever (or even the best sports movie ever), but it is a good film. Check it out!
Moneyball (2011) 133 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for some strong language.
Director: Bennett Miller
Starring: Brad Pitt as Billy Beane
Jonah Hill as Peter Brand
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Art Howe
Robin Wright as Sharon
Chris Pratt as Scott Hatteberg
Stephen Bishop as David Justice
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